Male or Female? - Photo Contest Preliminary Winner 2005

Choosing my best VR of 2005 has been a difficult decision for me. I like them all somehow.

Who is to say it is the best anyhow? To me it is a matter of perspective and criteria to whoever looks at it with whatever expectations or emotional connection to the subject. All the better if many judges vote the same. So, I let others decide what is the best to them.

This VR has won a preliminary contest as an equirectangular projection print (2D) of "Blende 2005" (Aperture 2005). A national photo competition in its 31st year of history.

This is an anual national event conducted by regional newspapers throughout Germany. Each paper has a jury to pick the 10 best photos and submit them to the finals. The draw of 2005 is not finalised yet. Our paper had 400 something submissions and this photo was picked as one of the 10 best to be forwarded to the finals. That was a surprise to me, because I never thought it had a chance with an equirectangular print. I guess I was proven wrong. We will see what happens next...competition is not over yet.

This group of Carneval parade musicians was from Basel, Switzerland. On this Sunday we had 130 groups and a total of 5300 participants walking the parade and 200.000 watching it from the sidelines. It's been quite a spectacular event. Most of them are hiding behind their masks and acting quite radically at times. Playing jokes on spectators (somtimes bad jokes) and nobody is really safe during the parade. I mean, some even climb up the rain gutters 2 floors to enter through a window into peoples homes...only to leave again if they get a shot of booze or a kiss or something. It is a crazy time....it is Carneval in Swabia.

Its been fun (and cold!).

Europe / Germany

Lat: 48° 44' 32" N
Long: 9° 18' 21" E

Elevation: 247m

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: Unknown / Undeclared.

4 shots in 6 seconds, sigma8, EOS1ds, Monopod